Wrath of the Weather Giant
by Darling Summers
Summary: Connie is forced to break all ties with the Society after her secret is exposed, and there are no lengths that Col will not go to to get her back. When it all goes wrong, Connie is threatened by dangers far outside the boundaries of the Society...
1. Anneena's Idea

_**A/N: **_Here we go- my second long story for CQ! The original plot idea has changed a little, so sadly, there will not be as much Connie/Col fluff, but I'll do my best. This is my first attempt at writing first-person, so please excuse me if I'm rubbish at it! And just so nobody gets confused, Connie and Col are both fourteen at the beginning of the story. Special dedication to everyone down at the forums :)

_**Disclaimer: Julia Golding owns the Companions Quartet, all I own is a copy of each book and a very large obsession with them :D**_

_**

* * *

**_

_Anneena's Idea_

The wind blew ripples across the lazy, glass-like sea, as the four of us lay sprawled out on the deck of the Water Sprite. Anneena, Jane, Col and I took in the rays of sun that rarely bothered to visit Hescombe while Rat attempted to steer. Every so often the boat would tilt dangerously to one side- we had already lost a towel, a bottle of water and a pair of sunglasses, that Rat had happily chased in the water after handing the wheel to Col, the only one of us who actually knew how to steer the boat. The table beside me wobbled precariously, and I hastily scrambled out of the way.

"Rat, maybe we should just drop anchor here?" I suggested. Col had obviously thought better of letting Rat take control of the boat, and was already lowering the heavy steel anchor. It fell with a splash into the water, and there was a little-concealed sigh of relief from everyone. Anneena sat up, her still slightly damp sunglasses slipping down to her nose.

"Now that we don't have to worry about getting killed any more," she stated, looking pointedly at Rat, "I have to tell you about a great idea that just came to me!" Rat groaned.

"Not again, Anneena! The last time you had a 'great idea', Connie was almost killed! Are you sure you need to share this one as well?" Anneena scowled.

"That's different. This idea is foolproof- there's no chance of anyone getting hurt! Unless they forget to wear a life jacket, of course." Jane unconsciously tugged on the strap of the luminous orange life vest that she was wearing.

"Why do they need life jackets?" Rat asked curiously. Anneena's face brightened, obviously delighted at being asked.

"How's this for an idea- a boat race!" All four of us stared blankly at her. "Not just a little one with two or three boats, a proper one, with advertising and photography, maybe even a story in the newspaper!" Jane began to take interest in what Anneena was saying.

"Photography? Maybe I could help with that, I've gotten a lot better at it since I joined the photography club, and I'm getting a new camera this weekend." Anneena produced a notepad from her exotic-looking beaded beach bag and neatly wrote the heading 'photography', with Jane's name under it- she seems to carry those notepads around everywhere. Anneena then looked at me expectantly.

"Connie, can I put you down for advertising? There's not much to do, just make out a few flyers that we could post around the town, and maybe a few extra for Chartmouth, and-"

"Send in an announcement to a radio station, and put a front-page advertisement in a newspaper, and hire a giant blimp and fly it over London!" Rat finished. Anneena failed to note his sarcasm.

"Great idea, Rat! The blimp and the front-page ad might be a little past our budget, but we could definitely send in a notice to that radio station based in Chartmouth, and I'm sure that I can get Rupa to put something into the Times for us- that will definitely get it noticed. Hey, she might even write an article on it after it's done!" I looked at her sceptically.

"Do you really think a national newspaper would run a story on something that happens in a town as small as Hescombe?" Anneena was quick to defend her point.

"What makes you think that Hescombe is so unknown! Thanks to you and Col, this little town has received more publicity than ever! Remember when you saved that oil tanker three years ago? And the time you ran away to join the Mallin's Wood protest? I suppose you weren't involved in the refinery incident last month," Col and I shared a secret look, "but Rupa sent us a copy of the article, and do you want to know what it said?" Obviously, this was a rhetorical question, because Anneena didn't wait for my answer. "The refinery in Chartmouth is located directly beside Hescombe, a town that has been made famous in the past three years because of one of its underage residents, Connie Lionheart, who has made quite a name for herself as an ecological protestor." I buried my face in my hands in embarrassment, and Rat sniggered. Col wrapped his arms around me and gave me a hug in commiseration. I stretched up to kiss the top of his head. A sudden silence fell over the boat. Anneena was looking at us, slack-jawed. For once not a word came from her mouth. Jane was smiling contentedly, and I thought I heard her whisper,

"Finally." Rat was, of course, the one to break the silence, by collapsing with laughter.

"You… her… hahaha!" The temporary silence shattered, Anneena recovered from her shock.

"When did this happen? Why didn't you tell us! Have you kissed yet?" I could feel my face going red, mirroring Col's intensifying blush.

"Guys, why don't we just leave them alone? I think they make a great couple." I smiled thankfully at Jane.

"Yeah, you're right. To be honest, I'm surprised they haven't got together before now. Has Evelyn only allowed you to date him now, Connie?" Jane looked at her reproachfully.

"Sorry! Rat, don't you think they make a cute couple?" Rat was unable to keep a straight face and burst out laughing again. Anneena rolled her eyes dismissively, and turned to Col.

"Col, why don't you enter the race! You have a boat." I have a feeling that I heard Rat mutter something like 'very observant', but obviously, nobody else heard it, as Col shook his head.

"Oh, why not!" Anneena pleaded. "We need at least one person to sign up to the race to make it official!"

"I'll lend the boat to somebody else, so they can be part of the race instead. Connie, do you think Jessica and Arran might be interested? And maybe the Littles and your uncle? They have boats of their own, I think." Anneena scribbled their names down in the little notebook, and turned to the first page again.

"Okay, Col, I'll put you down for advertising with Connie, and since that's a fairly big job, I'll do what I can to help as well. We only have a month left of the holidays, so we'd better set a date that's before the end of the holidays, but with enough time to give notice to people who need to get a boat ready. Let's see… it's the second of August today; would three weeks be enough time to get everything organized, do you think?" Rat glanced at her sadly. Jane felt sorry for him, and visibly racked her brains for something that Rat could do to help.

"Anneena, maybe Rat could do the running commentary?" Anneena gave a long-suffering sigh, but nodded her head in agreement.

A huge grin broke over Rat's face. He put his hands around a bottle of sun cream in lieu of a microphone and started to shout.

"And here they are, all lined up, to take part in England's most unknown boat race! The three boats taking part in the race are… Whoops." he ended dejectedly as the bottle of sun cream flew from his hands and landed with a splash into the ocean. "Sun cream overboard!" he yelled, then grabbed a life ring and started to run towards the edge, but got his foot tangled up in a piece of discarded rope and fell into the water.

Jane winced and put her hands over her head to avoid the spray of water that showered over us. As she offered a hand tentatively to a bedraggled-looking Rat as he climbed back on board, I got up from the wooden floor to whisper in Col's ear.

"She's going to regret offering him that," I murmured. Rat lost his balance and toppled over again, but this time dragging an unwilling Jane in with him. Col chuckled, and leaned against the unsteady table cheerfully.

"Which part of it?"

**So, should I continue? Review for a preview! :D**


	2. Revealing the Secret

A/N: Thank you very much to GreatWolf Fanatic, BrightCat, xpskl and Tweirdo for reviewing Chapter One; you all get previews! And a slice of virtual chocolate cake :D

Special thank you to GreatWolf Fanatic, who is betaing for me :)

* * *

**_Revealing the Secret_**

"A boat race?" Evelyn grabbed her dark brown hair in one hand and quickly tied it back. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Anneena huffed impatiently, annoyed at having her precious idea dismissed so easily.

"Of course! It'll bring a lot more tourists to Hescombe to see the boat race, so it would help bring money in, and it'll bring attention to the refinery's ships spoiling the area, so we might finally be able to get rid of them!" Evelyn frowned slightly.

"That's all good and well, but what about the wildlife here? Wouldn't the boat race put them in danger?" The question was not directed towards Anneena, but towards me**.** Luckily, Anneena didn't notice.

"Definitely not. I mean, if those big oil tankers don't put them at risk, as Mr. Quick is so fond of pointing out, then the wildlife will hardly be damaged by a little boat race! Anyway, I'd better go start on the preparations. I'll come around tomorrow to help with the posters and flyers, if that's okay. Bye, Connie, bye, Ms. Lionheart!" Anneena handed me a sheet of details and hopped onto her bike, her gold-braided plaits waving madly in the wind as she pedaled down the road.

"Actually, it's Mrs. Clamworthy now," Evelyn called after her, laughing. She closed the front door and looked at me expectantly.

"Don't worry**;** I'll make sure that all the mythical creatures are warned. Is the Kraken still here?" She scowled.

"Unfortunately." I couldn't prevent a small smile from creeping over my face. Evelyn and Mack were forever trying to influence George's gift, but if they knew what my little cousin's gift was, they would be very shocked.

"So, so far that's… the selkies, the Kraken, the Charybdis- but they probably won't be going near him- and the sirens, then." Evelyn looked at me in surprise.

"Oh, they're still here, then?"

"Yes, as far as I know. I'll start with them, because they'll probably be the most difficult to persuade." The door burst open, and Evelyn looked indignantly at her husband.

"What happened to knocking?" George giggled in agreement, and Mack gently ruffled the tuft of black hair growing on the top of his head.

"I think that George here is getting hungry." He swooped down to pick his son up, and carried him into the kitchen. A few seconds later, we heard a loud crash and a stream of profanities come from the kitchen. Evelyn immediately took action, sprinting in after them. I laughed- whatever life with my aunt was, it certainly wasn't boring. The front door creaked, reminding me that it had been left opened. I slammed it shut and turned to go up the stairs to my room, but heard a loud bang against the door. I opened it and found a sheepish-looking Simon sitting on the front step.

"I forgot my key," he muttered, and pushed past me into the house. He hesitated before going up the stairs, and picked up the sheet of paper that I had left sitting on the banister.

"_Hescombe Boat Race? __What's this about?" h__e asked, scanning through the sheet of paper. _

"_Anneena came up with it. Don't ask," I replied, grabbing my coat and heading outside again._

"_Hey, wait!" he called, and ran outside after me. "Can I help?" We had become a lot closer since the incident in the refinery. Although I still hadn't told him about what had happened with Kullervo yet, the Society had really brought us together and helped us to understand each other. _

"_Why not__**,**__ I'm sure that Anneena will be glad of the extra help. In fact, if you want, you could help me with the Society- I need to get around to as many creatures as I can today to warn them about the race. Do you want to go round to the companions? Evelyn might help with that as well, actually." Simon grinned, pleased that he was given a chance to help._

"I'll go ask her. Are you starting now?"

"If I can. The sooner I start, the better chance I have of getting around to everyone today."

"Fair enough. Do you want to meet up at around half six at the wind turbines?" Simon gestured towards the distant hill near the Masterson's farm. "Maybe you could borrow Skylark from Col so you don't have to walk." I had planned to shift into whatever creature I was trying to encounter, but I didn't let Simon know that.

"Okay, I'll do that. See you in three hours!" I waved at him and walked around the corner, dissolving into a water sprite and flowing down the drain the moment I was out of sight. I easily found Mrs. Clamworthy's garden- there was no other garden with so much running water in Hescombe. I didn't return to my human form immediately, but shifted into an almost-invisible sylph form and raced around to the front door and rang the doorbell. Mrs. Clamworthy opened the door and ushered me inside.

"Hello, Connie dear. I didn't see you coming in the gate. I'll go get Col for you, will I?" I shuffled my feet anxiously, fiddling with a stick that I had picked up in the garden. As Col came into the room, I put a little too much pressure on it and it snapped in two.

'I have to tell him today,' I thought guiltily. The last month had been perfect- we didn't need to worry about Kullervo any more, and we were finally together, something I had hoped for ever since he rescued me in Mallin's Wood. We didn't even have to worry about Rat, Jane and Anneena finding out, or their reactions to it, as we had easily and accidentally broken the news to them yesterday. It seemed like my secret was the only thing that was left between us.

"Connie?" I blinked, and noticed the hand waving in front of my face. I dismissed the thought with a shake of my head and gave Col a hug.

"Hi, Col. I'm going to go let all of the creatures who might go near the Hescombe Channel know about Anneena's boat race. Could I borrow Skylark?" Col didn't answer me at first, just grabbed a pair of riding boots and started to put them on.

"I'll come along with you. Don't worry- I'll stay well back if you want to encounter one of them." I laughed, remembering the reluctant tolerance that Argand had shown in the beginning for Col, before she started to get used to him.

Less than ten minutes later, we arrived at the isolated Stacks, and I crept into the siren's cave while Col and Skylark waited outside. The best way to tell Col was to show him, I reasoned, but not in a siren's form. The cave was completely deserted- there was not so much as a feather or fishbone as proof of the siren's residence. I shrugged my shoulders as I ducked through the small entrance and returned to Col.

"They're not there. They haven't been there for a while, judging by the state of their cave. I'll check in before the race, but I'm pretty sure that they're gone." Col looked pleased with the news- I touched the small remaining scar on his cheek from where Gull-wing had scratched him.

_Now! _I urged myself._ Change now! My hand fell from his face and the moment was over. I mentally berated myself for being too slow as we climbed onto Skylark's back. I quietly promised that I would seize the next chance I got to show him. _

Our next stop-off was the cave on the moors where Argand and her family lived. Argand was lying in the sun, but when she noticed that I had come to see her, she squealed in delight and leapt at me enthusiastically. As she was about the size of a fully-grown Bernese mountain dog, I stood no chance. She carefully climbed off me**,** and shot behind me to nudge me upright again. I placed one hand on her shoulder to gently restrain her.

"Argand, I have an important message for you. I need you to let your family know that you have to stay away from the sea the day that's four days after the full moon. Is that okay with you?" Argand inclined her head, and I tickled under her**chin** before walking away from the dragon's lair. She whimpered sadly, and feeling sorry for her, I transformed into a small silver dragon and sent a curling tongue of fire towards a pile of dry wood, which had been set aside for Argand's favourite pastime. She shot towards the building fire like a bullet, and basked happily in the flames. I turned around a second time, the outline of my dragon silhouette flickering indistinctly in the glow of the gentle fire.

Col was gaping, entranced, in my direction. I stepped back slightly in panic, and returned to a human form.

"Wow," Col whispered. "When did you learn to do that?" I tried to think of an excuse frantically. Col saw my discomfort, and walked slowly towards me. I was frozen in place, unable to take a single step towards him or away from him, but if I had been able to, I probably would have done the latter. He reached the spot where I was standing, and placed a gentle hand on my cheek, just as I had done.

"It's something to do with Kullervo, isn't it? Is that why you're so worried about me finding out?" he asked softly. I forced myself to speak.

"The night in the refinery… I didn't kill Kullervo. I only weakened him enough to take over his powers." I hesitated.

"So what happened to Kullervo if you took his powers?" I tried to continue, but my voice had disappeared. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." I picked up Col's free hand, his right hand still resting softly on my face.

"I couldn't… get rid of Kullervo. Once I went in through the mark, there was no going back. Kullervo and his powers can't be separated. Kullervo became… I became…" I couldn't finish, but Col understood.

"Connie, you aren't Kullervo. If you were, do you honestly think that you'd be going out with me? Unless Kullervo secretly harbors affection for me, whichwould be just plain creepy." He shuddered, and I laughed. "So, do you feel like going deep-sea diving to find the Kraken?" I screwed my face up in thought.

"Hmm… let's leave that to Mack, and go treat ourselves to a coffee instead."

**_Review for a preview! If you're anonymous I'm afraid I can't send you the preview- does anyone have a suggestion as to what account-less people can get instead?_**


	3. The Coffee Shop

_**A/N: **_This is a short AN, for once- this needs to be up in fifteen mins, for Project PULL- aaaargh! Pressure! Big thanks to Loony-1995, who actually reminded me that I still _have_ this story! Ookay, off I go- gotta get this posted before twelve! Enjoy!

**_The Coffee Shop_**

I looked at the menu indecisively for a moment, and eventually decided on a cappuccino, while Col ordered a coke and giant slice of chocolate cake, then insisted on paying. I looked at him in disbelief.

"How are you going to eat all that?" He pulled two forks from the cutlery dispenser.

"I'm not. We're going to share." We made our way down to our usual table by the window, but it felt a little strange. Usually, the table would be crowded and noisy- especially given Rat's presence there.

This time, it was just the two of us, something we had never done before. Even though Col, my best friend, was the one who was going through my first date with me, I felt kind of awkward. Col must have picked up on my nervousness, and sat beside me, rather than opposite me. A group of older teenagers came over to borrow some chairs for their table, and after they had left, I could think of nothing to say.

"Um…" I started, unintentionally interrupting him. Col looked at me expectantly.

"You go first," he offered, and I shook my head.

"No, it was nothing important. What were you going to say?" I asked, hoping that Col, at least, could think of something more intelligent than 'um' to say.

"I just noticed that you're acting a bit nervous. Is something wrong?" I bit my lip anxiously, then sighed.

"Nothing really. It's just that… this is our first real date, and I've never gone out with anyone before. I just don't really know what to _do _on a date," I ended miserably, avoiding his eyes. When he said nothing, I cautiously glanced at his face. Once my eyes met his, he started to speak.

"Connie, just because we're dating doesn't mean that things will be different between us. We'll still talk about the same things, and do things together, just like we've always done." he reassured. Then, almost as an afterthought, he added, "We can stop going out, if you want. I'll wait." The hopeful expression on his face caused a smile to break out on my own.

"No, you're right. I don't want to ruin our friendship, but, somehow, I don't think that it will. I think we should give it a try." Col placed a gentle kiss on my cheek.

"Sealed with a kiss, then." he whispered.

"Sealed with a kiss," I agreed, and stuck my finger into the cake's icing. Col raised his eyebrows.

"Use a fork, won't you!" he complained. I licked the chocolate from my finger thoughtfully, and shook my head.

"Nope, don't think I will," I pronounced, and broke off a second piece of cake. Col speared a piece of cake on his fork, and brought it towards me.

"What about now?" he asked, and slipped the cake inside my open mouth. I took up my own fork, but before I could touch the cake with it, a third fork landed sharply in the centre of it. Col looked furious.

"Rat!" he growled. "What, exactly, are you doing here?"

"Anneena wants the two of you to go to her house. She wants you to start on the advertising now, because her sister is coming here tomorrow and she wants a leaflet made out." The last part of what he said was hard to make out, as it was muffled by the cake he was chewing. I picked up my coffee and retreated hastily from the coffee shop, with Col following closely behind me.

"Don't worry about your cake!" Rat called out after us. "I'll finish it for you!"

I couldn't help but laugh at the way Col was muttering angrily as he stormed ahead of me. He turned around at the sound of my laughter, looking apologetic.

"Sorry about Rat ruining our first date. I'll make it up to you next time." I glanced at our abandoned table through the window, where Rat was wolfing down the remains of the cake.

"I'm not sure if that was long enough to qualify as a first date. Let's just call it a coffee break," I suggested.

* * *

"So, the first thing we need is a slogan. Any ideas?" Rat snapped his fingers.

"I've got it. How about 'Hescombe Sea Sprint'?" We all looked at him in surprise, Anneena more so than anyone else. She had gathered us all together at short notice to help with the flyer, and Anneena's room was full to bursting.

Col and I were sitting on one of the single beds while Anneena and Jane sat on the other. Rat was spinning around repetitively on Anneena's swivel chair, and was starting to look slightly nauseous. Simon was sitting in the corner, wedged in between the wall and a desk, looking a little bit uncomfortable at having been wrangled into the organization of the event.

"Strangely enough, that's actually a good idea, Rat! We'll use that, then. As for the date, I think that maybe Saturday the twentieth would be a good date for it, at around one o'clock." She scribbled it down into her notepad. "And I was thinking that we could set out a route from around the area of the pier on the boating dock, then up to the Stacks and back, and we could use Col's boat to put down small buoys to mark it. What do you think?" Simon glanced at me anxiously.

"Connie, did you get a chance to tell your… singing friends about the race? I told all of the… um…" He glanced at me again, conveying with his eyes that he had let all of the human companions know about the boat race. I smiled gratefully at my brother.

"Thanks, Si. I just got to tell Dr. Brock's friend's daughter about it, but she told me she'd pass on the message. My… singing friends weren't there, actually." Simon glared at me disapprovingly.

"You mean, you only told one cr- person about it!" he exclaimed in disbelief.

"They weren't telling anybody about it when I went to get them," Rat said slyly. I gave him a warning look, but he continued anyway. "They were on a date!" Simon rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything.

"They were on a date!" he repeated, when the first time didn't have the desired effect. Anneena had apparently decided to take Jane's advice, and didn't react either, initially. Then her eyes narrowed.

"Simon, did you know that Connie and Col were going out?" Simon took in Anneena's fierce gaze and gulped.

"Well, yes, but…" he stammered. Ignoring his flustered expression, she directed her wrath towards Connie.

"I can't believe you told him before you told me!" she complained.

"We live in the same house, Anneena," Connie soothed. "It wasn't exactly a secret." Anneena huffed, unconvinced, but Jane cut in before she could say anything else.

"Should we use the red or the blue sheets for the posters?" she asked pointedly, throwing a teasing smile towards Connie that clearly said_ 'you owe me.' _

"Oh, blue, definitely," Anneena decided. I sighed in relief, and unnoticed by Anneena, who was enthusiastically discussing the benefits of laminating with Jane and Simon, took hold of Col's hand.

It was all okay now- nothing more to worry about.


	4. The Race

Haven't updated this one in a while:D This is posted in connection with Project PULL, set up by Bookaholic711, where you post a thousand words or more every Friday fortnight. Happy Christmas, everyone!

_**The Race**_

"Wish us luck!" Jessica yelled from the Water Sprite. I laughed- Arran was gazing steadfastly at the water, obviously resenting the fact that he had to stay in human form so close to his natural element. Antonia, who was unfurling the sail, looked up and waved at us, letting the lightweight material drop and trail into the water, sending ripples over the surface.

"Careful!" Col shouted back out to them, his voice muted by the festival atmosphere that had arisen in the last half hour. "You won't get anywhere with a wet sail!" Anneena rolled her eyes histrionically and rapidly enlisted the selkie and his companion in wringing out the sodden sail.

A younger member of the Chartmouth Chapter- a water sprite companion in his early twenties- had been coerced into being the adult supervision for their entry, and when Anneena was otherwise occupied in untangling the boat's rigging, he placed a hand on the sail and drew the water from it as easily as if he had been a sponge. The liquid harmlessly evaporating from his skin in wispy spirals of condensation. When Anneena looked again, her eyes widened in comical surprise, and she scrunched the cotton in her hands disbelievingly. The water sprite companion, noting that our eyes had settled on the antics of their boat, held a finger to his lips, and encouraged by the smile I gave him, turned the gesture into a flamboyant hand-kissing gesture. Col was good-natured about it.

"Seems like you have no end to your admirers, Miss Universal." He pulled a strand of my static black hair teasingly, and snatched his hand back in alarm.

"Ow! I thought it had stopped doing that!" he complained, rubbing his finger where my hair had shocked him. "I swear, it's almost as bad as the gorgon's!" I smoothed down the flyaway strands as best I could, pulling most of it into a dark green band that I had been wearing as a bracelet.

"Better?" I asked, running my fingers self-consciously through the loose layers that fell around my face. Before Col could reply, Rat cut in, speaking into a large, unusually fluffy microphone. The initial screech of feedback caused several people to wince and place their hands over their ears.

"Attention, all! Hescombe's first annual boat race is about to commence! Please turn off all mobile phones and keep public displays of affection to a minimum!" Several people turned around to give Rat a funny look, but their attention was soon distracted by a well-timed foghorn blast from Anneena, signaling the start of the race.

Rather than the three boats that Rat had originally predicted, almost twenty small boats were taking part in the race. We didn't single out anybody in our cheering as a huge amount of the boats belonged to Society members. Apart from Jessica, Antonia and Arran on Mrs. Clamworthy's boat, boats that had newly been christened 'Selkie', 'Fire Imp' and 'Kraken' were sailing through the calm waters. The conditions were perfect for the race; Anneena had planned it very well. The sun shone down from clear, azure skies, giving a promise of a dry day, and there was just enough wind to give the sails the power to move. They looked like oversized, colourful swans floating along the harbour, all swift lines and lightly fluttering material.

Every so often, a brisk breeze would spring up around the 'Fire Imp'- I suspected that Omar's sylph companion had something to do with it. Without thinking, I drew an arrow of wind from my quiver, and after making sure that nobody was watching, drew my bow and fired at the shadow resting on the mast of Mrs. Khalid's boat. Taken by surprise, the sylph was lifted by the wind and gently deposited into the water. Catching my triumphant expression when he turned around, Omar laughed affably and mimed that he wouldn't try to cheat again. Col looked on, surprised.

"What was that about?" he whispered curiously.

"Omar's companion was trying to help, so I just blew her off course." Col nodded in understanding and sat back down on the rug he had brought along, then motioned for me to sit beside him. I rested my head on his shoulder comfortably, half-heartedly watching the race, which, by that stage, had moved too far away for each individual boat to be recognized.

A small red-haired toddler was gazing with delight at the boats, showing a lot more enthusiasm than I was. She looked like she was around two years old, and she seemed completely entranced by the water. Her expression caught my interest- maybe she was a companion? I dived quickly into her mind, and caught a tiny glimmer of light come from deeper inside it.

Not wanting to intrude more than I needed to, I sent a silver ribbon of light towards the faint glow, searching intently for the source of the light. Before the silver band had so much as touched the blue light, I knew that she had a bond to water sprites. I withdrew from her mind quietly and told Col what I had discovered. He looked at me, and started to laugh.

"The Society won't be short of potential members as long as you're around, Connie!" His laughter was contagious, and I couldn't help but join in.

"I don't see how this is funny," I gasped, still unable to breathe from laughing.

"No, I was just thinking, this might raise some problems in our relationship. If we were going out on a real date, and you wandered off in the middle of it to ask somebody if they wanted to do an assessment!" he chuckled.

A small droplet of water fell on my outstretched hand suddenly. I looked up, frowning, and Col's laughter ended abruptly.

"What's wrong?" he asked, and I brushed the water from my hand.

"Nothing. I just thought I felt-" An anguished scream prevented me from saying anything more. I leapt from the rug immediately and scanned the area quickly. I froze in shock when I saw where the scream had come from. The little girl- the companion to water sprites- was dangling over the edge of the pier.

Her small hands were gripping the stone so fiercely that her knuckles had turned white, but were gradually losing their hold. Her mother was desperately trying to grab hold of her hands, but couldn't pry them from the pier. I looked over the edge of the pier- if she fell, it would not be relatively safe water that would break her fall- the tide had come in sharply. Sharp rocks lay clustered on the ground at least ten feet below her.

Without thinking of the consequences, I leapt from the pier, shifting shape in mid-air, like Kullervo had done before me. Following Kullervo's instinct, and not my own, I settled into the form of a silver eagle that easily plucked the toddler from her perilous position and dropped her into her mother's waiting arms.

The crowded pier went completely silent, and it was only then that what I had done had sunk in. Col's eyes were wide and scared- he didn't know what to do any more than I did. I had no option but to escape as quickly as possible.

The only sound I heard before flying away was the unmistakable sharp 'click' of a camera.


	5. The Trustee's Summons

_**A/N: **_Yet another Project PULL post- big surprise there :D With everything that's going on at the moment, the set Friday fortnights are really the only chance I get to write! Well, anywho, as regards to this chapter, I love the Trustees, I really do, but given the events of the last chapter, naturally, they won't be inclined to be in a forgiving mood. (And where would the plot be without a bit of conflict!) Go raibh míle maith ag Mbali97. Frozen Smoke, Kateyx, Angelmail, Loony-1995 and Laura, for reviewing the last chapter, and the two people who voted on my poll, whoever you are; this chapter's up thanks to you :D

_**The Trustee's Summons**_

"Miss Lionheart?" I looked up from the spot on the monochrome marble tiles that I had been staring blankly at for the past ten minutes. "They're ready to see you now." One of the porters (the Cerberus companion, if I remembered correctly), was peering out through a crack in the doors of the foyer.

Surprisingly, it wasn't the Chamber of Counsel that had been prepared- one of the smaller rooms were being used, as the Mythical Trustees were not going to be present. The outcome of the incident at the boat race had been too prominent in the media to enable the transport- even during nocturnal hours- of the dragon, storm bird, rock dwarf and unicorn.

I wished they had been able to come; it was the creatures that I desperately needed to apologize to. If nothing else, I admit that I would have been grateful for Windfoal's easy manner of dispelling tension as easily as if it had been steam from a kettle. However, it would be the human Trustees I would be facing today, and they would not be as lenient on my misdemeanour.

With a weak, heartless smile, I rose from the overstuffed tasselled couch that Col and I had been sitting on the past ten minutes, my head resting against his shoulder as he stroked my hair comfortingly. Our hands were still intertwined, and I tried to disentangle my own fingers from his. With a stubborn shake of his head, Col grasped my hand in both of his.

"I'm coming in with you, Connie. You're not facing this by yourself again." I didn't argue. As selfish as it was, I needed him in there with me, to give me some sort of control over my emotions.

The change in temperature was evident the moment we entered the room. The large stone chamber was bitterly cold, and the weak, dirty-yellow flames sputtered and struggled against the cold downward draughts of winds that buffeted the fireplace. This chilly atmosphere only emphasized the uncomfortable tension that surrounded the heavy metal table that had been dragged haphazardly in front of it.

This summons had the same callous feel as the hearing at the Masterson's that resulted in my suspension almost two years ago. Fitting, as it was very possible that this meeting would result in the same outcome.

Four people, whom I had thought I had come to know as friends, were positioned on one side of the table. The fifth chair in the room had been placed on the other side of the wide table- evidently, I was not expected to sit with them. The obvious barrier felt like a snide gesture to highlight my unworthiness to be counted among the Society leaders.

It was also obvious that Col had not been expected, and a second chair was not offered. Col was apparently unperturbed- he hovered protectively behind my shoulder, my hand still enclosed in his. I wondered if he could feel how badly it was shaking.

A glass of water sat in front of me. Momentarily, I contemplated drinking some of it to clear the dry feeling in my throat, but I decided against it. I didn't want to be the one to move first.

Without saying a word, Eagle-Child pulled out a newspaper from a woven Hessian bag and slid it across the table. The paper spun like a cartwheel across the table, but my attempt to retrieve it was moments too late. It landed on the floor underneath the table in a flurry of crackles, as the thin, papery pages landed in a dishevelled heap underneath the table.

It was strange- the shift from human to bird had been an immediate, almost instinctive reflex. I hadn't needed to think about it; it just… happened. And yet, I couldn't catch a newspaper.

I finally let go of Col's hand as I bent down to pick it up, and I allowed my expression, which I had carefully schooled into a blank, apathetic mask, to fall away. I was worried- no, _terrified. _I knew that, although my actions had been accidental, there was a very high chance that what I had done was unforgivable.

I examined the pale skin on the back of my hand, criss-crossed with a spidery network of veins and arteries. There was still a subtle pearly shimmer, if I looked hard enough, that betrayed the trace of that luminescent silver glow that came across me on that first night, although it was no longer as pronounced.

A different porter came into the room- one of the ones that worked in the library, and began to whisper in an urgent tone to Kira, who was seated at the edge of the table closest to the door. I strained my ears to listen, but all I caught was 'book', 'snake', and 'gone', before Kira cut in sharply.

"Not now. We're busy, we'll deal with it later," she said sharply. That surprised me- the unicorn companion had never been so brusque before.

Eagle-Child tapped a short, impatient rhythm on the table, as a subtle indication that perhaps it would be a good idea to resurface. I did so promptly, nearly banging my head off the edge of the table as I returned to the chair. I smoothed out the creases that had formed across the front page, and began to read.

There, emblazoned across the front page, in large, gaudy red letters, was what was certainly a valid incentive for concern.

'_**Strange Saviour Sparks Suspicions Of Shape Shifter'**_, the painfully over-alliterated headline read. The columns of the article were built around a picture of a colossal silver eagle, a young child with a shock of blood-red hair dangling from its talons.

I raised my eyes tentatively, and met Eagle-Child's. There was a hardness, a look of cold disappointment in his dark eyes, and although I had no right not to expect it, it hurt.

"Keep reading," he murmured grimly. "It gets worse."

'_Spectators of the 'Sea Sprint', in the small harbour town of Hescombe, were stunned by the unprecedented rescue of a two-year-old girl who had fallen over the harbour wall. What made this puzzling prevention of what otherwise would have been a terrible tragedy particularly peculiar was the fact that the rescuer was a large silver eagle- a species not only foreign to our shores, but according to the experts, a new species altogether. However, eyewitness reports claim that up to the point of the rescue, the avian aid had not been a bird, but instead, a local teenager. The girl in question was not available for comment, but… __continued on pg 4'. _

I pushed it away, unable to read any more. Kira reached over to take the newspaper, a questioning look in her eyes, but my mouth was too dry to speak. I took a gulp of water to clear my throat, feeling as if I was being interrogated.

Although after what had happened today, I had a feeling that a lot more than an interrogation would come to me.

"How did they get the photo?" I asked quietly. Kira looked at the other Trustees silently for affirmation.

"A girl called Jane took the photo just before you escaped, and she gave it to the reporter who was covering the event." I couldn't believe it; the quiet, unassuming Jane was the one who had betrayed me! The fact that it was one of my best friends who had given evidence against me in what the Trustees seemed to think was equivalent to a crime hurt far worse than it would have had anyone else been the one who had taken the photograph that condemned me. How could it be her fault that I was exposed?

Then it hit me. It couldn't be her fault, because the Society's exposure had happened completely because of me. I was the one to blame for the companion pairs forced to seperate; for the lockdown on all mythical creatures to try and keep some sort of veil over the secrecy that made up the Society. Psychotics and fanatics were stalking the streets, looking for any trace of the elusive 'shape shifter'; hundreds of creatures from every corner of England had needed to take refuge far from human civilization, and their own companions. And it was all my fault.

"I'm sorry," I whispered suddenly. I knew that 'sorry' couldn't fix what had happened, but it was the only thing I could say. Col rested a hand on my shoulders in a reassuring gesture, quietly telling me that it would be okay. A tear trickled down my cheek as realization of the enormity of what I had inadvertently caused struck me. "I didn't mean to do it. I just didn't think."

"It seems that the shape shifter's instinct has begun to override your own," Mr Chan suggested. The gentleness in his tone surprised me, and when I once again looked up, I saw the sentiment of his tone mirrored in all of the Trustee's faces.

"Connie, we're sorry too. We don't like this any more than you do, but action needs to be taken," Kira intoned quietly. "Kullervo's presence is too deeply engrained in the nature of the part of you that is dominated and influenced by Universal powers." I noticed that it was the first time that she had referred to my position as Universal as anything other than a gift.

"We can't afford to take any more chances," Eagle Child added gravely. "It might be time to give up your powers." I shared a glance with Col, and he shot me a worried look. If even easy-going, optimistic Col was worried, I had no hope of beating off the nervous paranoia that that comment had evoked.

"Temporarily?" I asked slowly. "Until the media buzz dies down?" The room fell into silence again. The Trustees exchanged glances unsurely, as if they were trying to break the news to me that someone had died. Finally, Kinga took a deep breath.

"No," she said firmly, although an uneasy edge still lingered in the undertones of the word. Kira was struggling to hold back tears, Mr. Chan was failing to hide a scowl of dissonance, and Eagle-Child resolutely refused to meet my eyes.

"Permanently. It pains us to have needed to make this decision, but… Connie Lionheart, you have been expelled from the Society."


	6. Struggling With Control

_**A/N: **_This is an (extremely belated) post for Bookaholic711's Project PULL- usually posted on Friday fortnights and containing 1000 words or more, but absurdly, I'm posting this on a Wednesday! Apologies for that, again- unfortunately, I was in hospital at the time of the most recent deadline, and only got home this week. I quite enjoyed writing this chapter- there's a fair bit of Connie-Col interaction there at the end for all you hardcore fluff fans ;) Thanks a million to Bookaholic711 for being so understanding, and also to my reviewers Mbali97, Kateyx, Looney-1995 and Angelmail; I love you guys :)

_**Struggling With Control**_

A stone-cold silence fell, and the weight of Kinga's words hit me. My ears were filled with the roaring pulse of anger at what they were trying to take from me. How could they? They knew what it had done to me the last time- two years ago, being isolated from the only place where I had ever truly belonged had almost driven me mad.

I could feel the ocean swelling up inside me, an infinite source of power at my hands. My fingertips twitched, unconsciously aching to unleash the fury upon the people who had betrayed me, whom I had always trusted before. I had been one of them, once. Not anymore. I could crush them, if I wanted to, I knew that. With a snap of my fingers, I could put them in ten times more pain than I was currently in.

Gathering the reserves of power within my eyes, I slowly raised my eyes from my hands, ready to hit the Trustees with all that I had. As I readied my gaze, I caught sight of my reflection in the dull gleam of the metal table. What I saw terrified me.

I didn't recognize my own face. It had been twisted into a banshee-like mask of desperation and agony- a face that would stop at no lengths to alleviate its pain, through whatever means necessary. Strands of my hair had began to crackle and rise towards the ceiling, defying gravity and sending out visible sparks of deep silver.

It was my eyes that scared me the most. The mismatched irises, one brown, one green, had dissolved into a hideous kaleidoscope of acid yellow, bloody red and midnight blue, floating like an oil-slick on a puddle over a mercurial sheen of silver. Grotesque, distorted silhouettes flickered through them at a pace of milliseconds- chimeras, sirens, gorgons, stone sprites.

It was only then I realized how much danger we were in.

I frantically scrambled through my memories to try and maintain my tenuous grip on my conscience. I wanted my eyes back. My eyes, which I had once hated for their asymmetry, but which had blessed me with the most incredible gift in the world. The eyes that I loved because they were identical to those of the boy sitting beside me. I grasped onto that thought, and tried to project it, shielding myself and those around me from my own destruction. I needed to get out of here- _now._

I clutched the edge of the table, and kicked my chair back. It toppled over backwards with a loud crash, and cracked one of the monochrome tiles on the floor. My eyes were half-lidded, to conceal the transformation that had taken place, and the figures of the Trustees were blurred before me. I heard a second, softer screech of a chair beside me, and felt Col's hand rest on my shoulder, in support rather than to prevent me leaving. His reassuring touch told me that if anything, he would leave with me.

I knew I needed to leave, but I couldn't go without saying something first.

"Fine, expel me. You can take my position, and you can take my membership- but you will _never_ stop me from being a universal. Give me that much, at least."

Again, silence. My words had fallen on deaf ears- no pleas to reconsider were going to come out of my mouth if they weren't even willing to keep me in the Society. I knew when I wasn't wanted.

Once I had turned sharply on my heel away from them, my eyes shot open and I stormed out of the room. From the corner of my eye, I saw Col stare coldly at the Trustees for a moment, before he strode out after me.

Outside the door, the porter was waiting, studying his hairline in the reflection of his Chamber of Counsel badge intently. He was startled from his personal grooming by the loud bang of the door as Col slammed it behind us. The porter started to approach me, a questioning look on his face. I did not acknowledge it, but walked briskly past him, breaking into a sprint once I reached the main foyer floor.

"Miss Lionheart!" I heard the porter call after me. "Miss Lionheart, you can't go out there! There's been a-" Again, I did not heed him- I regretted it almost instantly.

The moment the fresh air hit my face outside the doors of the Headquarters, I was blinded with the flash of cameras, deafened by the clamouring wail of reporters, and suffocated by the multitude of microphones that had been pressed towards me.

It had been a set-up. Somebody had tipped the media off that I was here.

"What was your connection with the events of the Hescombe Sea Sprint, Connie?"

"Connie, is it true that you can shift your shape at will?"

I tried to push through the crowd that I had been pulled into, but it was futile. I was drowning in the sea of reporters, my hands covering my head protectively to defend myself from their merciless questioning.

"Connie! Over here!"

"Smile for the camera, Connie!"

Seized with panic, I removed my hands from my head, and lashed out at anybody who came near, my only aim to escape. The crowd surrounding me had no qualms whatsoever about fighting back.

I was felled by a blow to the back of my legs with a camera tripod, and the crowd began to close in around me, filling me with claustrophobia and panic.

"Connie!" I gave a sob of relief, upon recognizing the voice.

"Help, Col!" I cried out, my voice choked by tears. "Please, help me- get me out of here." I could see him as well as hear him now. His hood was pulled up to cover his face- a smart idea, considering his connection to the Society.

He was trying to battle through the crowd, but hadn't gotten any further than the same entrance that I had thrown myself through moments ago. I struggled up the steps, and fell into his arms.

One of his arms wrapped itself around my waist, and the second caught me under my knees, lifting me up easily.

"Leave her alone," he growled, but the buzz of noise heightened upon taking sight of Col's arrival and our current position. His words were lost in the uproar that followed. "_Leave her alone!_" I buried my face in his chest as he battered at the door.

Finally, it gave way, and Col slipped through the gap with me in his arms, barricading it hastily against the media crews that were trying to force entry.

Col sank to his knees, and placed me on the floor gently, one of his hands still supporting the back of my neck.

"Come on- we're going upstairs. The rooftop exit is our best chance of getting out of here- I have Skylark up on the roof, and fog is forecast for later this morning, so if we fly above cloud cover, we should be fine. I hope. Can you walk?"

I began to unfold my legs from underneath me; my ankle had a nasty bruise on it, and a red, angry-looking scratch snaked itself to halfway up my calf. Col pulled a tissue from his pocket, and began to dab gently at the blood. I winced at the pain upon contact.

"That's a no. I'll carry you, then." I found myself cradled in his arms once again, and I gave in without protest. After everything I'd been through today, I managed to convince myself that I deserved this small comfort.


	7. Making Decisions

_**A/N:**_ Another Project Pull Post (1000 words every Friday fortnight, founded by Bookaholic711)- no surprises there. Anywho, I've been on house arrest the past while with no internet, and going completely mad with cabin fever and general lousy-feelingness, so I've had plenty of time to plan this one out. Apologies in advance for the ending of this chappie, but it had to happen!

All my love to my awesome reviewers, Mbali97, Angelmail and Katey-x; thanks, guys!

_**Making Decisions**_

I lay with my head in Col's lap, curled up upon one of the ornately carved wooden benches that lined the pathways of the ornamental rooftop garden, as we watched the impending mist gather across the skies, like a frustrated artist had viciously attacked his own masterpiece with angry smears of ugly grey paint.

The Society rooftop gardens were a beautiful place to pass the time, if you had it, but for us, the relation of time was inexplicable at the moment. We needed to leave the headquarters as soon as we possibly could to evade the torrential outpour of broadcasting crews that had descended upon the Society headquarters, but we were stuck here until the weather giants could generate enough fog to fully conceal Skylark's wingspan.

The looming storm clouds did nothing to spoil the beauty of the gardens, but in all honesty, my thoughts were so occupied that I wouldn't have noticed if I had been surrounded by a rubbish dump instead. The Society grew all its own fruit and vegetables to be sold in the downstairs canteen, and in the middle of summer, it was impossible not to notice the veritable cornucopia of fruit that clamoured for attention. A sprawling raspberry cane at the peak of its season trailed aimlessly over the terrace, dotted with succulent, vividly scarlet berries, and full-leaved strawberry plants that dripped with ripened fruit had dominated an entire allotment, but I didn't feel hungry.

I knew that if I wanted, I could surrender to the dizzyingly beautiful fragrances wafting from every variety of tropical flower possible in the surrounding flowerbeds, but the exquisitely intermingled perfumes of African tulips, Amazonian lilies and Japanese cherry blossoms just made me feel uneasy. I snuggled in closer to the soft, warm material of Col's jumper, and breathed in his comforting scent, a pleasant concoction of light cologne and dried hay.

The sounds that assailed our ears were far less pleasant than the other aspects of the usually quiet sanctuary. The beehive-like activity of the media continued to unfold far below us in a less-than-welcome reminder of what awaited me on my arrival at Hescombe; the clamouring of camera crews fighting over the best position, the cacophony of reporters eagerly yelling out questions to a grim doorman, and the news broadcasters struggling to make their news bulletins heard over the surrounding noise.

"Col?" I murmured. It might have been paranoid, as there was no chance that the reporters knew that we were up here, but I didn't want to take any chances. "What am I going to do when we get back to Hescombe?"

Col smoothed down my hair with his hand reassuringly.

"Don't think about that just yet. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." I shifted slightly, so that I was facing him.

"Seriously, though. It's going to be just as bad as this, if not worse, when we get back home. And besides, how do we explain how I disappeared from where they saw me in London and mysteriously arrived in Hescombe without anybody noticing?" My voice had risen in volume, and I dropped back down to a whisper. "We need to get our cover story straight. Have the _Trustees_-" I coughed out the word unwillingly, "-made any suggestions as to what we should say?" Col shook his head.

"They didn't say anything to me." He didn't say anything else for a while, a pensive expression on his face as he carefully gathered the correct words to say. "I think that… they want to believe that if you don't use your powers any more, this will all die down eventually. Just reiterating the whole 'no comment' turn of phrase until they leave us alone, I think." I could hear the disbelief in Col's monotonous tone- he thought the concept was just as ridiculous as I did.

"And what about you?" I asked, meeting his eyes. His mismatched eyes held my gaze resolutely. "What do you think?"

"To be honest, I don't really know if 'no comment' will hold them back. Not this time." I nodded in concurrence with a sinking heart, and tendrils of grief which had been battering at my defences finally overwhelmed me, curling past my shield in dark, heavy spirals. I had already known that it wouldn't be enough to pretend it had never happened, but Col's doubt affirmed my fears.

A thought passed through my mind briefly, and I froze. Tentatively, I reached out and took hold of the idea, and a relief, numbed with despair, crept over me. I knew what I had to do.

"Col, I think I might have an-"

"Look!" He cut me off unintentionally, pointing at the sky. It was difficult to say what, exactly, I was trying to look at. Half the garden was now obscured by fog, the railing that enclosed the garden completely hidden by the mist. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought that the garden went on forever, far past the barriers of wood, brick and sky that constricted its growth. It looked like the inside of an exhibition I had seen once in a modern art gallery, a glass room completely filled with dry ice so that you could barely see your own hand in front of you. It appeared that the weather giants had overdone it a little.

Col looked at me apologetically.

"Oh, sorry. Were you going to say something?" I shook my head. The initial courage that had approached without invitation along with the onslaught of relief, had deserted me almost before I realized that I had it. I couldn't tell him; not yet.

"Nothing. It's not really important." He raised an eyebrow sceptically, and I sighed. "Honestly, Col. I'll tell you later, okay?" Skylark emerged from behind a pillar, and nosed Col affectionately.

"Aargh!" Col's vociferation of surprise made me giggle. It felt good- like I hadn't laughed in ages. I realized with a start that in fact, I _hadn't_- not since the boat race, which already seemed worlds away.

Col vaulted onto Skylark's broad back expertly. I, on the other hand, hadn't quite as much experience, or legs quite as long. He extended his hand to me to pull me up, and I took it gratefully.

I clung tightly to Col's back as Skylark began to gallop- for the first time in months, I was truly scared about the flight ahead of us. I knew that Col and Skylark were more than capable of flying in such adverse conditions, but still… I worried.

I didn't open my eyes until I felt that there was sufficient distance between us and the headquarters. Fog had been scheduled for the entire country today, even without the weather giant's interference, and we had been given orders to fly under strict cloud cover, so I couldn't see much anyway.

The flight felt mercifully short, despite the detours we took to avoid overly urbanized areas. It was far too easy to fall asleep with my head nestled in Col's jumper, and I suspect that I was probably only partially conscious for most of the journey.

We had arranged to return to the same point where we had taken off that morning, just outside the Masterson's farmhouse, but if the media had been alerted to the Society's involvement, it was extremely likely that the farm would be surrounded as well. Instead, we touched down forty minutes after leaving London in a remote area on the periphery of the moors. The plantation was visible in the distance, but only vague silhouettes were discernable. Shirley's weather giant had also been hard at work to cover up our tracks.

Col pulled off his hoodie, revealing a plain black t-shirt underneath it. He handed the jumper to me wordlessly, and I frowned.

"Col, you'll be freezing. Keep it." He smiled half-heartedly at my protests, but pressed the jumper firmly into my hands.

"I'm fine. You need it more than I do, anyway." Reluctantly, I pulled his hoodie over my head, doing my best to ignore the thrill of delight that came with it. "Put the hood up over your head, just in case," Col advised. I secured my hair into a low pony-tail and reached for the hood, pulling it up to cover my hair and part of my face. Col pulled the drawstrings and tied them, to keep it in place, then kissed me lightly on the forehead.

"Connie, what were you going to tell me earlier?" I felt absolutely awful. Why did he have to ask me now? If I hadn't brought it up, I could have slipped away in the middle of the night without being noticed by anybody, without having to hurt anybody, without being persuaded to stay. But Col… I had to tell him, at the very least. I couldn't go without saying goodbye to him.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and willed myself to keep my voice steady. I opened my eyes again, and took both his hands in mine. Col's concerned, compassionate eyes were almost my undoing- I'd do anything to be able to stay with him, but there was too much at risk. I had no other choice.

Another deep breath.

"Col. I'm leaving."


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: **This is an advance post for Project Pull, in which you post 1,000 words every Friday._

I haven't updated this one in a while :) This one's a bit on the short side, since it's a 'filler', but rest assured, the next one will have a bit more substance and length to it :D

* * *

_**Chapter 8- Saying Goodbye**_

Silence.

Not the peaceful, tranquil variety, but the kind invoked by tension so thick that it would take a chainsaw to rip through it.

Col still hadn't said anything, and it was worrying me.

"Col?" I said hesitantly, slipping my hand into his. "Are you okay?" I knew that the solution would come as a shock to him, but I didn't think that he would take it _that _badly.

He pulled his hand firmly away from my own, and dug his hands into the pockets of his trousers. My fingers trembled, already missing the warmth of his hand. I clasped both of my own hands together in front of myself, but it was a poor substitute.

"It's not fair," he muttered angrily. I half-walked, half-ran as I tried to keep up with his long strides. "You shouldn't have to go." I caught his arm, forcing him to stop and look at me.

"But it's what I need to do," I whispered. "It's the only way to keep us all safe."

"I know, but that doesn't make it any easier to bear!" Col tore away from my grasp, and stormed towards the plantation, before turning around abruptly. I shrank backwards- his eyes were blazing in anger. "I've only just gotten you, and now I have to lose you?" A tear, unbidden, slipped from my eyes. Col's eyes softened as he reached up to wipe it away, conceding defeat. "What's fair about that?" he pleaded, but half-heartedly; he knew that he wouldn't be able to change my mind.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," I said, trying to convince myself as much as him. "I just need to lie low for a couple of months, until all of the media hype dies down. I'll be back before you know it."

"What if it never dies down?" he argued. "Think about all those kidnappings and murders that exist for _years_ in the media; when you come back, they'll recognize you immediately."

"We'll figure it out, Col," I said softly, as he pulled me into a tight hug. "It won't last forever. I promise." In all truthfulness, I didn't know whether I could keep that promise.

I stared blankly over Col's shoulder as he embraced me, feeling like if I let go of him, I would drown, but I could only hold him for so long.

"I suppose you'll want to say goodbye to everyone?" he asked emotionlessly, avoiding my eyes. I shook my head vehemently.

"I don't think that's a good idea. It would just make it harder to leave." It felt horribly selfish, but if I made my farewells, it wouldn't take too long for one of my friends or family to convince me into abandoning my plan. I had no illusions of my strength- I knew that I wouldn't be able to resist them.

"I'll… just let Evelyn know, then. I'm sure between us, we can come up with some sort of an alibi to feed to Jane and Anneena." A slight measure of sarcasm was evident in his tone; one of Col's automatic defence mechanisms. "Is there anyone else who needs to know?" I nodded reluctantly.

"Yes- but I think I need to tell her in person."

* * *

Once again, we flew in relative silence. I was aware that Col and Skylark were having a private, subliminal conversation, having accidentally dropped in on it.

"The rock dwarves will keep a track on her, don't worry…"

"…but they can't tell me how she's feeling, just where she is…"

"…how about if you…"

I quickly extricated myself so that the conversation could remain just that; private.

Thankfully, when I arrived at the large cave on the moor, overhung with weaving tendrils of ivy and camouflaged with pale, textured patches of lichen and moss, only Argand remained in the underground nest.

I remembered the day when the dragons moved into it all too clearly; the dragonets had grown too big for the cave in Mallin's Wood, but not big enough to survive in their own lodgings, so the Society, particularly the dragon companions, had worked on finding an alternate accommodation for them.

We had needed to dig out a large cavity underneath the cave- one of the twin boys who were companions to Argand's siblings had gotten half-buried in a cave in, thanks to their companion's particularly enthusiastic brand of digging, but they were rescued soon enough.

"Argand?" I called out softly, reaching out with my mind simultaneously. I felt her mental presence pounce on me exuberantly, and her physical form followed soon after, sprawling into a halt at my feet.

"Companion!" she intoned joyfully. She looked up at me quizzically, eyeing my expression. She reached forward and licked my hand with her cat-like, sandpapery tongue. "Is everything all right, companion?" I said nothing, but crouched down beside her, sending her a quick mental stream of the day's events. I came to a dam, of sorts, on reaching my conversation with Col, but with a strong push, the dam shattered, and that memory followed too. It was easier than using words to explain it, but it was difficult nonetheless.

My companion looked up at me with sad fading eyes- the fire that played mischievously in her golden irises had been extinguished.

"You must go?" I nodded. "Miss you. Love you."

"Love you, Argand," I whispered. As I threw my arms around the companion that I might never see again, I felt a hand stroke my hair soothingly. I did not need to turn around to know that it was Col. How I wished that I could say the same words to him, but I knew that it would just make saying goodbye to him even harder. I resolutely wiped the tears from my eyes and tried to keep my voice steadfast. Once his concerned eyes met mine, all resolutions of masking my emotions went out the window.

"I'm really going to miss you," I sobbed as he held me close. He held me back at arm's length for a moment- I studied his face, trying to imprint it to memory.

"Then let me come with you. You need someone to look out for you- you said it yourself, you can't stay hiding forever."

I'll admit it, I was tempted. To have Col with me… well, it would change my outlook entirely. But it wouldn't be fair to him. He had a life too; I had no right to ruin his along with mine.

"I'm sorry, Col. I can't. I... I have to go." I shifted into a sylph and was carried away by the breeze, leaving Col holding nothing but thin air.


End file.
